The real reasons food prices are increasing

To address the fuel vs. food debate and correct common misconceptions, the American Coalition for Ethanol has created a set of new fact sheets.

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) welcomes the opportunity to correct misconceptions about ethanol driving up food costs and encourages others to do so as well. It has developed four fact sheets: “The Real Reasons Food Prices Are Increasing,” “Ethanol Production Means Fuel & Food,” “The Real Cost of Food Has Very Little To Do with Ethanol,” and “The Expansion of Ethanol Production & the Nation’s Corn Supply.”

“Crude oil got up to $147 per barrel briefly in 2008, during the last food spike. The food companies I spoke with said, ‘Yes, we are paying more for grains, but what is really affecting our bottom line is fuel prices,’” Jay O’Neil, Kansas State University senior agricultural economist, is quoted as saying in one of the new fact sheets. “The greater dependence we have on international petroleum, the more sensitive our economy becomes to rising fuel prices — far more than to other commodity prices,” he added.